Closure apparatus

ABSTRACT

A closure apparatus is provided for passing materials therethrough into an opening of a chamber in which the pressure can range in value above or below atmospheric pressure and for sealing chamber pressure tight after the materials are placed therein. The apparatus has a conical member having a longitudinal axis. A housing dimensioned to accommodate the conical member is also provided. The conical member has a slot extending therethrough and is journalled in the housing so as to be rotatable to open and close positions whereat the slot is aligned with the opening of the chamber and the slot is closed with respect to the latter respectively. A stud extends from the wider end of the conical member in a direction along the axis of the latter. A pressure piece is in non-rotational engagement with the stud and is slidably mounted thereon so as to be movable along this axis. A spring is seated on the stud between the end of the conical member and the pressure piece for applying a pressure force against the latter. A rotatable drive member is provided and has a bearing means in engagement with the pressure piece. A cam surface is provided on the pressure piece and supports the bearing means and presses thereagainst by the action of the spring. The housing has grooves extending to an arc corresponding to an angle of substantially 90* and a pressure piece is provided with projections extended into these grooves respectively, so that the pressure piece and the conical member are rotatable by a rotation of the drive member through an angle up to 90* between the open and closed positions. The cam is contoured to permit the bearing means to move therealong and to move the pressure piece along the axis against the spring force in response to a continued rotation of the drive member passed the closed position, whereby the conical member is seated pressure-tight in the housing.

United States Patent Hotz Jul 17 1973 CLOSURE APPARATUS housingdimensioned to accommodate the conical 75 l "to 1 Karl Hotz Erlan n, Gan member 15 also provided. The conical member has a 1 me r ge em y slotextending therethrough and is journalled in the Assigfieei SiemensAkfiengesellschaft, Berlin housing so as to be rotatable to open andclose posiand Munich, r ny tions whereat the slot is aligned with theopening of the I 3 97 chamber and the slot is closed with respect to thelatter [22] F] ed Nov 0 1 0 respectively. A stud extends from the widerend of the [21] Appl. No.: 93,788 conical member in a direction alongthe axis of the latter. A pressure piece is in non-rotational engagementwith the stud and is slidably mounted thereon so as to [30] Foreign Applcm'lon pnonty Data be movable along this axis. A spring is seated onthe Dec. 4, 1969 Germany P 19 60 846.9 Stud bfitween the end of thaConical member and the pressure piece for applying a pressure forceagainst the amen A rotatable drive member is provided and haS a bearingmeans in engagement with the pressure piece.

[58] Field of Search 220/46 R, 46 P, 46 MS A m surface is provided onthe pressure piece and supports the bearing means and pressesthereagainst by [56] References cued the action of the spring. Thehousing has grooves ex- UNITED STATES PATENTS tending to an arccorresponding to an angle of substan- 3,392,489 7/1968 Johnson et al.220/46 R tially 90 and a pressure piece is provided with projec- PrimaryExaminerLloyd L. King AttorneyCurt M. Avery, Arthur E. Wilfond, HerbertL. Lerner and Daniel J. Tick [57] ABSTRACT A closure apparatus isprovided for passing materials therethrough into an opening of a chamberin which the pressure can range in value above or below atmosphericpressure and for sealing chamber pressure tight after the materials areplaced therein. The apparatus has a conical member having a longitudinalaxis. A

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures l CLOSURE APPARATUS My invention relates toclosure apparatus used in connection with the introduction ofradioactive pellets in envelope tubes. To introduce such pellets in theenvelope tubes, the tubes and the chamber in which the pellets arelocated must be evacuated in advance. For introducing the pellets intothe chamber and to seal the chamber after introducing the pellets, aclosure apparatus having a conical member can be used.

In nuclear technology nuclears fuel rods are used in many instances andcomprise envelope tubes having a length of several meters. Into thesetubes must be placed the radioactive material which is in pellet form.The small tolerances existing between the outer diameter of the pelletsand the inner diameter of the envelope tube inhibit the simple and fastintroduction of the pellets into the tubes, because the air compressedin the tubes by the insertion action cannot escape between the pelletsand inner wall of the envelope tube.

In order to prevent this undesirable effect, the envelope tubes areevacuated prior to insertion of the pellets. To achieve this effect eachpellet stack is placed in turn into a chamber which together with theenvelope tube connected with the latter is evacuated, so that asubsequent introduction of pellets into the envelope tube can beundertaken.

It is an object of my invention to provide a closure and passageapparatus for a chamber of the kind discussed above, which receives thepellet stacks. The apparatus according to the invention must provide anopening sufficiently large to permit the introduction of the pelletstacks as well as permit the chamber to be closed air-tight against theambiant.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a closure apparatusof a construction that requires only little space for its installation,so that the channels used to introduce and remove the full and emptypellet stacks are brought as tight and close to each other as possible.

The invention relates to a closure apparatus for use of conjunction withthe chamber in which the pressure can be above or below atmosphericpressure. The closure apparatus is provided with a passage suitable forpassing materials therethrough into an opening of a chamber and forsealing the chamber pressure tight after the materials are placedtherein. According to a feature of the invention the conical memberhaving a slot or passage extending therethrough is journalled in ahousing so asto be rotatable therein to open and close positions whereatthe slot is aligned with the opening of the chamber and the slot isclosed with respect to the latter respectively. The conical member isprovided with a stud extending from the wider end of the latter and apressure piece is positioned thereon in non-rotational engagementtherewith as well as being slidably mounted thereon so as to be movablealong the longitudinal axis of the conical member. According to anotherfeature, a spring is seated on the stud intennediate the aforementionedend of the conical member and the pressure piece for applying a pressureforce against the latter. A rotatable drive member engages the pressurepiece the latter being provided with a cam surface for supporting thedrive member in bearing relation thereagainst by the action of saidspring. The housing is provided with grooves extending in an arccorresponding to an angle of substantially 90 and the pressure piece hasprojections extending into these grooves respectively, so that thepressure piece and the conical member are rotatable by a rotation of thedrive member through an angle up to the between the open and closedpositions. The cam surface is contoured to permit bearing the drivemember thereon in a manner that renders the pressure piece movable alongthe longitudinal axis of the conical member and against the force of thespring, this action being in response to a continued rotation of thedrive member past the closed position, whereby the conical member isseated and braced pressure-tight in the housing.

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawingswherein:-

FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially in section of a closure apparatusaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken at line IIII of the right handportion of the closure apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. The section viewshows the protrusion on the pressure piece accommodated in grooves ofthe apparatus housing;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectionalview taken at line III-III of the left handportion of this closure apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. The sectionview is taken through the drive portion of the apparatus and shows thefollower rollers.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-section of the apparatus taken at line IVIVthrough the conical portion of the apparatus; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a development of the control cam and the grooves ofthe housing in which the protrusions on the pressure piece areaccommodated.

Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates the housing 1 inwhich a conical pin member, 2 is rotatably journalled. The pin member 2has a longitudinal slot 3 having dimensions that permit passingtherethrough the pellet stacks containing the pellets. The pin member isjournalled at its smaller end through the assistance of a bearing 5 thatis acted upon by a spring 4. At its other end, the pin member isprovided with a drive stud 6 upon which is seated a spring arrangement7. In addition, a pressure piece 8 is slidably mounted on stud 6 and isin shape-constrained (non-rotationable) engagement therewith.

As seen from FIG. 2, the pressure piece 8 has two protrusions 9positioned at respective locations from each other. The protrusions 9engage into grooves or slots 10 in the housing 1. The grooves 10 occupysuch a portion of the periphery of the housing 1 that the protrusions-9and therewith the pressure piece 8, the stud- 6 and the pin member 2joined thereto are all rotatable through an angle of 90.

Onthe left side of the pressure piece 8 there is provided a control cam11 which is engaged by follower rollers 12. Rollers 12 are secured to adrive member 13 which is joined to an actuating shaft 14, the latterbeing similarly rotatably journalled in the housing I of the closureapparatus.

The housing I is provided with flanges l5 and 16 at both sidesrespectively as illustrated in FIG. 4. One of these flanges is joined tothe device that introduces the pellet stacks and the other flange isjoined to the container receiving these stacks, the latter beingevacuated after each introduction of these stacks. The shape of thecontrol cam and the relative position thereof to the protrusions 9 onthe pressure piece 8 is illustrated in the projection of FIG. 5. Thisdrawing illustrates a drive member 13 with the rollers 12. The movementof the protrusion 9 in the slots 10 of the housing 1 is likewiseillustrated in FIG. 5. In viewing this drawing, the plane oftheprotrusions 9 with the grooves 10 must be considered as being displaced90 with respect to the control cam 11.

In the illustrated position of the pin member 2, the pellet stacks canbe either inserted or removed and the two spaces which border on theflanges l5 and 16 communicate with each other. By turning the actuatingshaft 14, the drive member 13 is also turned in the sense correspondingto a leftward movement of the rollers 12 in FIG. 5. The rollers 12 areshown to lie in the illustrated position in respective recesses of thecontrol cam 11, so that the pressure piece 8 moves likewise to the left.This movement causes a rotation of the pin member 2 in acounterclockwise direction. After turning the pin member 2 via the stud6 and the pressure piece 8 through 90, the protrusion 9 lies on theother side of the slot 10 so that an additional turning is no longerpossible. Should the drive member 13in FIG. 5 be turned to the left anadditional amount in the same direction, the rollers 12 will wander onthe control cam 11 further to the left. In this way the pressure pieceis held tight and moves in dependence upon the contour of the controlcurve against the-force of the spring arrangement 7, so that the pinmember 2 is axially braced in its closed position. The axial bracing ofthe pin member 2 causes the latter to be seal tight in the housing 1. Bymeans of an opening in the closure apparatus, the actuating shaft 14 andthe drive member 13 are moved in the opposite direction. Since with atensioned spring arrangement 7, the moment needed for turning the pinmember 2 is very high, the rollers 12 first return to the position shownin FIG. 5 on the control cam on pressure piece 8. In this way thetension in the spring 7 releases and the bearing 5 loosens the tightseating of the pin member 2 in the housing 1 by means of the force ofspring 4, the latter being greater than the force exerted by the spring7 in its released condition. A further movement of the rollers 12 on thecontrol cam 7 of the pressure piece 8 toward the right is not possiblebecause of the stop, so that the projections 9 on the pressure piece 8then move to the right until they reach the same position illustrated inFIG. 5. In this manner, the pin member 2 returns to the open positionillustrated in FIG l. The higher adhesion force conditioned by the pinseating is more easily overcome by the dynamic action of the alreadymoving drive member (Hammerschlag-Effect).

For the application already suggested, the described closure apparatusaffords the decisive advantage over the known slider arrangementsrequiredto provide a pressure tight seal in that it affords a largespace saving. This is especially true when it is considered that severalclosure apparatus according to the invention can be placed next to eachother so that every other one of the apparatus is positioned so that itssmall side or small end is placed next to the large end of the nextadjacent pin member. In this way, with minimal dimensioning, an optionaluse of the available space for construction is used and a completesealing against the ambient is obtained with an easy movement of theapparatus.

While the invention is described by means of a specific example, I donot wish to be limited thereto, for obvious modifications will occur tothose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

I claim:

1. Closure apparatus for passing materials therethrough into an openingof a chamber in which the pressure can range in value above and belowatmospheric pressure and for sealing the chamber pressure tight afterthe materials are placed therein comprising a conical member having alongitudinal axis and having first and second ends of wide and narrowcross-section respectively, a housing dimensioned to accommodate saidconical member, said conical member having a slot extending therethroughand being joumalled in said housing so as to be rotatable to open andclosed positions whereat said slot is aligned with the opening of thechamber and said slot is closed with respect to the latter respectively,said conical member having a stud extending along -said axis from saidfirst end, a pressure piece in non-rotational engagement with said studand slidably mounted thereon so as to be movable along said axis, springmeans seated on said stud intermediate said first end and said pressurepiece for applying a pressure force against the latter, a rotatabledrive member having bearing means for engaging said pressure piece,control cam means disposed on said pressure piece for supporting saidbearing means and pressing thereagainst by the action of said springmeans, said housing having grooves extending in an arc corresponding toan angle of substantially said pressure piece having projectionsextending into said grooves respectively, so that said pressure pieceand said conical member are rotatable by a rotation of said drive memberthrough an angle up to said 90 between said open and said closedpositions, said cam means being contoured to permit said bearing meansto move therealong and move said pressure piece along said axis againstthe spring force of said spring means in response to a continuedrotation of said drive member past said closed position, whereby saidconical member is seated pressure-tight in said housing.

2. Closure apparatus according to claim 1 comprising ancillary springmeans disposed at said second end of said conical member for applying aforce thereagainst in the direction along said axis.

3. Closure apparatusaccording to claim ll, said bean ing means beingrollers rotatably mounted on said drive member to permit said rollers tobe rolling contact with said cam means.

4. Closure apparatus according to claim 1, said projections ext'endingfrom said pressure piece in a direction radial of said axis, saidpressure piece having a surface facing drive member, said cam meansbeing a mesa like portion extending above said surface and defining saidcontour for supporting said bearing means.

5. Closure apparatus according to claim I, said first mentioned springmeans being dimensioned to apply a force to said pressure piece which isless than the force exerted by said ancillary spring means on saidconical member when said drive member is positioned in the angular rangeincluded by said open and closed positions, said first mentioned springmeans being further dimensioned to apply a force to said pressure piecewhich is greater than the force exerted by said ancillary spring meanson said conical member when said drive member is rotated past saidclosed position.

1. Closure apparatus for passing materials therethrough into an openingof a chamber in which the pressure can range in value above and belowatmospheric pressure and for sealing the chamber pressure tight afterthe materials are placed therein comprising a conical member having alongitudinal axis and having first and second ends of wide and narrowcross-section respectively, a housing dimensioned to accommodate saidconical member, said conical member having a slot extending therethroughand being journalled in said housing so as to be rotatable to open andclosed positions whereat said slot is aligned with the opening of thechamber and said slot is closed with respect to the latter respectively,said conical member having a stud extending along said axis from saidfirst end, a pressure piece in non-rotational engagement with said studand slidably mounted thereon so as to be movable along said axis, springmeans seated on said stud intermediate said first end and said pressurepiece for applying a pressure force against the latter, a rotatabledrive member having bearing means for engaging said pressure piece,control cam means disposed on said pressure piece for supporting saidbearing means and pressing thereagainst by the action of said springmeans, said housing having grooves extending in an arc corresponding toan angle of substantially 90*, said pressure piece having projectionsextending into said grooves respectively, so that said pressure pieceand said conical member are rotatable by a rotation of said drive memberthrough an angle up to said 90* between said open and said closedpositions, said cam means being contoured to permit said bearing meansto move therealong and move said pressure piece along said axis againstthe spring force of said spring means in response to a continuedrotation of said drive member past said closed position, whereby saidconical member is seated pressure-tight in said housing.
 2. Closureapparatus according to claim 1 comprising ancillary spring meansdisposed at said second end of said conical member for applying a forcethereagainst in the direction along said axis.
 3. Closure apparatusaccording to claim 1, said bearing means being rollers rotatably mountedon said drive member to permit said rollers to be rolling contact withsaid cam means.
 4. Closure apparatus according to claim 1, saidprojections extending from said pressure piece in a direction radial ofsaid axis, said pressure piece having a surface facing drive member,said cam means being a mesa like portion extending above said surfaceand defining said contour for supporting said bearing means.
 5. Closureapparatus according to claim 1, said first mentioned spring means beingdimensioned to apply a force to said pressure piece which is less thanthe force exerted by said ancillary spring means on said conical memberwhen said drive member is positioned in the angular range included bysaid open and closed positions, said first mentioned spring means beingfurther dimensioned to apply a force to said pressure piece which isgreater than the forcE exerted by said ancillary spring means on saidconical member when said drive member is rotated past said closedposition.